Elida teen’s competency still in question

LIMA — A decision on an Elida teen’s competency to go to trial is still up in the air after a motion was taken under consideration by Judge Glenn Derryberry of Allen County Juvenile Court on Wednesday.

The 13-year-old was charged with four counts of having a deadly weapon at school after an incident Feb. 12. The four charges are all fifth-degree felonies and could put him in a prison for juveniles until he turns 21.

After a competency hearing March 25 the boy was ordered to undergo a psychiatric exam in Toledo. The examiner found the teen to be competent to stand trial. However, before Derryberry made a ruling on the boy’s competency, his attorney, William Kluge, asked for another exam to determine if the boy had the mental capacity to know right from wrong at the time of the event. Derryberry granted the motion.

The Elida Middle School pupil brought weapons to school with the intent of killing, according to police reports.

The teen walked into the school office on the day of the incident and asked about the building’s lockdown procedure. He was sent in to talk to Principal David Morman.

Instead of carrying out his plans, he told the principal of his plot. He had two knives on him and two more in his locker.

The teen’s plan was to walk into the principal’s office, kill the principal and assistant principal, and then roam the halls killing anyone who approached him, according to American Township Police Department officials. The teen then planned to return to his classroom and kill more people.

The boy never carried out his plan, and no one was hurt.

The teen told police he had been hearing voices for a while and was planning the attack for two weeks. When asked why he stopped just short of carrying out his plan, the teen said he didn’t want to hurt anyone.

Derryberry remanded the defendant back into custody after the brief hearing. Before exiting, the teen hugged his father and then finally his mother, who tearfully repeated saying, “I love you,” several times as he was led out of the courtroom.

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